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The Morphogenesis of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Sat, August 12, 8:30 to 9:30am, Palais des congrès de Montréal, Floor: Level 5, 517C

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is twofold: I critically discuss British social theorist Margaret Archer’s morphogenetic theory, which has received relatively little attention both in Europe and North America, and apply it to my own recent qualitative empirical research on the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in order to further an analysis of the ELCA’s current development and transformation. Morphogenetic theory seeks to explain process of social and cultural change by examining the interplay of structure and agency in distinct, temporally limited phases of conditioning, interaction, and elaboration. It pays particular attention to the agential realm via the concept of reflexivity, or critical reflection of one’s actions and their effects. Morphogenetic theory allows abstracting previously gathered data on the ELCA and analyzing, from a meta-perspective, both its current situation in the American religious landscape and the capacity of key individuals to effect change within the denomination. While the denomination’s intellectualism and elitism excluded large segments of the American population until recently, the ELCA is slowly morphing into an entity that is genuinely welcoming and socially inclusive. Archer’s morphogenetic theory furthers our understanding of this process, and drawing from it for the case at hand allows for a critical appraisal of this important approach in social theory.

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